To Face the Pain
by xXYukikawa RycaXx
Summary: Max and the flock still goes on to save the world after the fifth book! There will be a lot of FAX and action after the first few chapters. I'll do my best on the fanfic! Plus: the freak scientist at the School managed to graft Erasers with M-Geeks.
1. Chapter 1

**Max's POV**

I looked out at the sea. I couldn't believe that this was the place the flock had rescued my mom AND fought the M-Geeks(I just have to love that name, don't I?).

The Gasman had recovered a lot from the Man-of-War stings. Angel obtained a new habit of speaking to Gor and his gang of sluggish and slimy monsters. Iggy was just being normal, which is typical, and Fang, yes.

Fang was the weird one. He was still hanging out with Brigid, and she was still flirting with him. I was being absolutely depressed these days(WTH, so much emotions, I wonder if the radiation from Mr. Chu's nuclear waste bin had gotten into my head.), cause I thought that Fang had loved me.

One thing I was absolutely sure of, was that I needed to Jeb the Evil. He told me that Mr. Chu was really dangerous, but he didn't tell me the specifics.

Anyways, let's get all over with that, my flock was ready to depart, to the north, I mean. We decided to stay with the hawks near Lake Mead.

"Gaz, Ig, Nudge, Angel, Total, get ready!" I called. John Abate, Brigid Dwyer, Valencia Martinez, and other key members of the CSM was there to say goodbye. "Take off!" Gazzy, Iggy, Nudge and Angel took off, spiraling up to the sky. Total flapped like an amateur next to Angel.

I hugged my mom, Dr. Martinez tenderly, then shook hands with Dr. Abate. Of course, I was locked in a bear hug with Brigid Dwyer. There I was, a kick-butt warrior, being squashed by a mere mortal women, helpless to do anything but to blink dumbly. I finally managed to brake away from her.

I waved a final goodbye to the CSM, and took off with Fang, who glided next to me swiftly and soundlessly.

I didn't look back, but instead, started to power up the Max-hyperdrive. _Bam!_ And I was up, about 10,000 feet in the sky, next to the rest of the flock. It was a few seconds before Fang caught up.

We spread out in a V formation to enjoy the air currents. One good thing about the ocean is that it's air currents are very nice. I looked behind me, where Fang was flying. He was looking at me intently. I blushed slightly, then looked away.

Fang. Me. Me. Fang. Hmm, I don't know.

_You two look pretty good when you're together._ Angel said, in my mind. My freaking _mind._ My little _mind-reading_ baby always understood my moods, no, _read_ my moods. That's why I tend not to think about Fang when I'm in the 10ft. perimeter zone near her.

"Hey, Max!" Gazzy called. "Yeah?" I shouted back at him. "Can I release some fireworks?" _Uh, no. Are you crazy?_ "No, nein, and never, Mr. Pyromaniac." Gazzy looked depressed, but he would brigten up after a while.

So I looked ahead. The Sun was about to rise.

The glowing ball of flame started to rise. I squinted my eyes. My raptor-vision magnified the strength of the sunlight, which made my eyes hurt a lot.

I squinted, and looked more at the Sun. Even though it was too bright, it was still beautiful.

But there was something odd about the Sun. Hmm. That shadows that I see, why do they look like humanoid Erasers and M-Geeks?

I squinted some more. There was a bang of a gun, and a bullet grazed my cheek, then whistled away into the distance.

Oh. So they _were_ Erasers + M-Geeks.

And with that, all of heck broke loose.


	2. Chapter 2

**Max's POV**

About 150 EMGs(that's the short term for Erasers and M-Geeks combined) hit us like a tsunami wave. Dammit. But this was our world, wasn't it? And our world was always in a turmoil.

I kicked and punched, practicing the Max-Kwon-do. After a few minutes of maiming, I looked up, expecting a mess of metal parts.

The EMGs weren't even scratched. Instead, they raised their arms which had little bazooka things.

I can't say that I didn't panic, cause Max-Kwon-do always worked. I guess this was the model 10.0.

The scientists went too far. I couldn't even recognize their human features anymore. They looked like... What was it? Oh, _Iron Man._ That was in the movie I watched with Sam when I was living a normal life.

The EMGs _grinned._ They liked threatening people, I guess. They cocked their guns. I ducked, but there were too many bullets and explosive pieced to dodge.

I felt a searing pain on my wrist, neck, and my waist. But Max-the-fighter mode tuned on in me, and I kicked and punched some more. It was like, Max-Kwon-do Platinum edition.

After I had cleared out about 15 of the EMGs, I gingerly picked out the bullets from my wrist, neck, and waist. They were specially designed to cause as much impact as possible, but too bad, we healed fast.

I did a 360 around me. Everybody seemed to be doing well, though they looked like they've been in a blender set to chop. After about 1 hour, most of the EMGs were gone. About 20 remained. I raced toward the EMGs, but the wall of EMGs parted, and a solitary figure stepped out(flew out).

I froze. I couldn't comprehend what I was looking at. He _died twice._ How could he be alive? Was he _reborn_ for the third time?

_It was my brother, Ari._

What the hell. But the weird thing was, I thought Ari was on our side. Why was he on the other side of the river?(I mean sky. I was just using metaphors and similies, okay?) Plus, we buried him.

"Ari?" I asked, incredulous. Everybody froze. The flocked turned to look at the solitary figure. I couldn't speak anymore. I was so happy and hurt at the same time. On one hand, Ari was alive. On the another, he was with Itexicon and the School. Seriously, what the hell.

Ari grinned, then said in his gravelly voice, "Hi, Max. Missed me?" EMGs chuckled. In the corner of my thoughts that wasn't invaded by dumbfoundedness, a voice(Not the Voice) screamed. _The fight is still going on!!!_ So I snapped out of it, and shouted, "Guys, keep fighting! Never look back during fighting again, understand?"

My flock nodded, then resumed to the business of smashing up the EMGs. I stood straight, facing Ari. "Ari, how...?" Ari understood what I was asking. "Technology, eh, Max? The scientists used my genes that were preserved when I was reborn for the 2nd time. I'm sorry, but I have to kill you."

"But why? I thought that we were on the same team."

"I got the scientists to erase the feelings and the memories of you so that I could deal with you in better conditions. Max, CSM is mad. If you save the world, I'll be accepted as an outsider and I'll probably die. I don't want to die for the fourth time. So, I have to kill you."

"Ari, are you serious?"

"You bet I am."

"Then let's do this."

"Fine with me. Any last words?"

"Say that after the fight, dammit!"

"As you please."

And with that, we came down onto the ground. Ari leaped at me and tackled me. We wrestled and rolled. I gave him a good punch at the side of his head. He grunted, then threw me off. He held me down and punched my face.

_I_ threw _him_ off this time. I've fought him so many times that I could predict every one of his moves. I jumped and shot up to about 5,000 ft above the air, then used my Max-hyperdrive to shoot down at him. But at the last second, I realized that I couldn't bring myself to kill him, so I skid in the air, and punched him with amazing force instead.

I heard the _snap_ of his nose breaking. I had to hurt Ari again. Why did this all happen?

But me not killing him was a _huge_ mistake. He acted like he was out of breath for a while, then suddenly lunged and with his long, deadly claws, and raked four deep lines on my side. The pain was about 5 times worse than normal because where Ari raked was the place that I got shot.

I didn't scream, thanks to all those years I've been training _not_ to scream or to moan in pain. Instead, I gritted my teeth looked at Ari. He smirked and said, "Do not think that this is over, Max." And with that, he flew away. The EMGs followed him.

That night, we sat around the open fire. I took out the First-Aid box from Fang's pack, and began to tend to others' cuts and scratches.

After I tended to them all, I realized that we ran out of anti-biotics and bandages. So naturally, I didn't tend my injuries, except the minor bullet ones on my wrist and my neck, to save some of the medical supplies. It didn't matter. The only thing I cared about was my flock.

We did the bedtime stack, then when Nudge, Angel, Total, Gazzy, and Iggy was asleep, I leaned on one of the boulders, rocking back and forth.

I felt Fang looking at me from the corner of his eye, but I was far too tired, both emotionally and physically, to talk to him. So I just closed my eyes.

**Fang's POV**

Max looked so depressed. I guess that was natural. The sympathy I felt during Ari's burial had disappeared with today's events. I couldn't believe he betrayed us. Seeing Max so heartbroken made my heart ache. She was always the strong, firm one.

I could hear Max's steady breath. That probably meant the she was asleep. I walked quietly to her, and sat down next to her. I pulled her head down to my lap. I realized that she was crying in her sleep. If Max was cheerful, I'd never let this slip - Maximum Ride, _crying in her sleep_? - but I knew that she would be somber for a few days.

I lifted her and hugged her shoulders. _She would need a lot of reassurance, and I'd willingly give it to her, _I thought, watching the starry sky above.

**(A/N) I'm so sorry that this isn't really good!! I honestly have amazing ideas, but as I'm writing, I sidetrack! It's frustrating!!! I'll do my best.**

**Plus, there's gonna be a lot of FAX later, so don't worry.**


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